The Music That Made Us: loucey
Cherie McCabe (2nd L) and Ben Lorio (far R) from loucey. Inspirations Portishead (top) and Charlie XCX (bottom)
THE music that made us loucey, NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans band loucey released one of OAD's favorite albums of this year so far, the excellently-named 'participation trophy wife'. As a preview to their upcoming gig with Alexis and the Sanity at No Dice (Oct 23rd, 2025), we asked band members Cherie McCabe and Ben Lorio to share some of the gigs, songs and albums that have inspired them.
Bully at Gasa Gasa (October, 2016)
Cherie: There was something about seeing Alicia Bognanno in the very early Bully days, unpolished and captivating as ever. Sam and I were living just up the street from Gasa Gasa at the time; Ben came over for dinner and we walked over to catch the set. I had been writing many songs that year, and I was unsure what to do with them. Could I front a new project, something in this vein…so many circling thoughts. Her presence and her ownership of her instrument made me want to do better and do more. I took it in and began to believe it was possible for me. In the following months, loucey took shape as a project that could move from the studio to the stage.
Angel Olsen at The Republic (February, 2017)
Ben: We all loved the Angel Olsen album “My Woman” and we caught her on tour the winter following its release. At that point I was acting only as the producer for the project, and Cherie was still looking for a drummer. We were blown by the power of Angel’s voice that night and how the sell out crowd was completely in the palm of her hand—despite the fact that her drummer might have been far less than amazing. But he didn’t try to do too much and he let Angel shine. A light bulb went off in my head, and as we were walking out of the venue, I announced to everyone that I would be the loucey drummer if they’d have me. The next weekend, Cherie and I recorded an early loucey track “comfortable,” and we didn’t look back.
'Bags' by Clairo
Cherie: I was traveling when I first heard this song, and I was drawn in. This and the rest of Clairo’s first studio album became the soundtrack to a San Diego work trip, and I’d walk the beach with it in my earbuds any evenings I could. I was nearly one year postpartum, resigned to the whole idea of moving on from writing and playing music. But I missed it. I loved how intimate and softened Clairo’s voice sounded on this track, how cinematic the production around her felt while still showing restraint. Not quite two months later, the guys coordinated a surprise for my birthday. They all learned this Clairo song (and a few others), Sam lined up a friend to babysit, I was blindfolded with a bandana, and driven to the studio where Ben worked at the time. They got me in front of a mic again, and that was all it took for me to want to jump back in.
'Dummy' by Portishead
Ben: I remember the video for 'Sour Times' coming on 120 Minutes while I was in middle school, but the album didn’t really grab me until I was in high school. I would listen from front to back while doing homework and messaging on AIM. I loved it. At that time, I was just learning how to produce music and this record’s lawlessness hit me hard. The dark, beautiful vibe and the juxtaposition of early DJ Muggs-style beats with the haunting vocals of Beth Gibbons struck me. All I wanted to do was make something that was 1/10th as cool as this record. Skip ahead to 2021: I’m having ear surgery and facing the possibility that my career might be over if this surgery is unsuccessful. I promised myself while waiting for the nurses to roll me in that I would try and make a record with this same feel. I needed to complete the mission I embarked on way back in high school. Not long after a successful surgery, I went on to find a podcast with Geoff and Adrian from Portishead where they broke down each track on Dummy. In the early days of making this latest loucey record, I was sending clips from the podcast out in the group chat, getting everyone on board.
'how i’m feeling now' by Charli XCX
Cherie: Every individual in this band is a not-so-secret Charli fan, for years before ‘brat summer’ took over. It’s a strange, unifying interest but we’ve always loved her, always loved pop music that pushes boundaries. This record (her pandemic record) means something different to each of us, but maybe in the grand scheme of loucey as a project, it kept us focused on this idea of making art for ourselves and no one else, art that captured a time and place. I also trained for a half marathon to this record and put a lot of miles in with this in my ears. Ben, Sam, Jeremy and I ran that half marathon together in February 2022 and it was on repeat that weekend.
'6 Underground' by Sneaker Pimps
Ben: My middle school sleepovers usually included watching MTV Amp until the wee hours of the morning, and this song was in heavy rotation during that era. I was always mesmerized by the vocals, the late night vibes, and the coolness of this song. It has made its way onto many a playlist of mine over the years, and certainly on inspiration playlists as we set out to make a full-length record that felt more trip-hop inspired. Last summer I convinced the band that we should do a cover of this song for my birthday and throw it on Instagram. It’s been a fun part of our live show ever since.
Bully at Gasa Gasa (October, 2016)
Cherie: There was something about seeing Alicia Bognanno in the very early Bully days, unpolished and captivating as ever. Sam and I were living just up the street from Gasa Gasa at the time; Ben came over for dinner and we walked over to catch the set. I had been writing many songs that year, and I was unsure what to do with them. Could I front a new project, something in this vein…so many circling thoughts. Her presence and her ownership of her instrument made me want to do better and do more. I took it in and began to believe it was possible for me. In the following months, loucey took shape as a project that could move from the studio to the stage.
Angel Olsen at The Republic (February, 2017)
Ben: We all loved the Angel Olsen album “My Woman” and we caught her on tour the winter following its release. At that point I was acting only as the producer for the project, and Cherie was still looking for a drummer. We were blown by the power of Angel’s voice that night and how the sell out crowd was completely in the palm of her hand—despite the fact that her drummer might have been far less than amazing. But he didn’t try to do too much and he let Angel shine. A light bulb went off in my head, and as we were walking out of the venue, I announced to everyone that I would be the loucey drummer if they’d have me. The next weekend, Cherie and I recorded an early loucey track “comfortable,” and we didn’t look back.
'Bags' by Clairo
Cherie: I was traveling when I first heard this song, and I was drawn in. This and the rest of Clairo’s first studio album became the soundtrack to a San Diego work trip, and I’d walk the beach with it in my earbuds any evenings I could. I was nearly one year postpartum, resigned to the whole idea of moving on from writing and playing music. But I missed it. I loved how intimate and softened Clairo’s voice sounded on this track, how cinematic the production around her felt while still showing restraint. Not quite two months later, the guys coordinated a surprise for my birthday. They all learned this Clairo song (and a few others), Sam lined up a friend to babysit, I was blindfolded with a bandana, and driven to the studio where Ben worked at the time. They got me in front of a mic again, and that was all it took for me to want to jump back in.
'Dummy' by Portishead
Ben: I remember the video for 'Sour Times' coming on 120 Minutes while I was in middle school, but the album didn’t really grab me until I was in high school. I would listen from front to back while doing homework and messaging on AIM. I loved it. At that time, I was just learning how to produce music and this record’s lawlessness hit me hard. The dark, beautiful vibe and the juxtaposition of early DJ Muggs-style beats with the haunting vocals of Beth Gibbons struck me. All I wanted to do was make something that was 1/10th as cool as this record. Skip ahead to 2021: I’m having ear surgery and facing the possibility that my career might be over if this surgery is unsuccessful. I promised myself while waiting for the nurses to roll me in that I would try and make a record with this same feel. I needed to complete the mission I embarked on way back in high school. Not long after a successful surgery, I went on to find a podcast with Geoff and Adrian from Portishead where they broke down each track on Dummy. In the early days of making this latest loucey record, I was sending clips from the podcast out in the group chat, getting everyone on board.
'how i’m feeling now' by Charli XCX
Cherie: Every individual in this band is a not-so-secret Charli fan, for years before ‘brat summer’ took over. It’s a strange, unifying interest but we’ve always loved her, always loved pop music that pushes boundaries. This record (her pandemic record) means something different to each of us, but maybe in the grand scheme of loucey as a project, it kept us focused on this idea of making art for ourselves and no one else, art that captured a time and place. I also trained for a half marathon to this record and put a lot of miles in with this in my ears. Ben, Sam, Jeremy and I ran that half marathon together in February 2022 and it was on repeat that weekend.
'6 Underground' by Sneaker Pimps
Ben: My middle school sleepovers usually included watching MTV Amp until the wee hours of the morning, and this song was in heavy rotation during that era. I was always mesmerized by the vocals, the late night vibes, and the coolness of this song. It has made its way onto many a playlist of mine over the years, and certainly on inspiration playlists as we set out to make a full-length record that felt more trip-hop inspired. Last summer I convinced the band that we should do a cover of this song for my birthday and throw it on Instagram. It’s been a fun part of our live show ever since.
loucey play at No Dice with Alexis and the Sanity on October 23rd, 2025 (8.30pm show)
Follow loucey on instagram
Read our interview with loucey about their album, 'participation trophy wife'.
Follow loucey on instagram
Read our interview with loucey about their album, 'participation trophy wife'.
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